Transfiguration of Our Lord
February 26, 2006
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Mark 9:2-9
Dear fellow Christians who, with unveiled faces, are being transformed by the Spirit of the Lord from one degree of glory to another,
Behold our heavenly Father’s beloved Son. He went up a mountain and came down having been revealed BY HIS FATHER for what He truly is. We say He was Transfigured. Saint Mark used the Greek word metamorfow. That kinda sounds like our English word: metamorphosis. It means Jesus looked different from the way they had normally seen Him. Three of His disciples were eye-witnesses. The eternal reality of the glory of heaven was revealed to sinful men. Peter had already blundered, when He told Jesus to stay off the Cross and stay alive. Now, after seeing the brightly shining clothes and face of Jesus, Peter blunders again by insisting that Moses, Elijah and Jesus all continue to dwell in this fallen world, as if what Peter wanted is what God Himself intended. But, they must depart from that mountain-top experience. Heaven is eternal and that moment of Transfiguration was only temporary. For a brief moment in time, God allowed sinful men to experience heaven in the unveiled presence of God’s own Son. Who wouldn’t want to BE there?
The eyes of Peter, James, and John saw Christ’s conversation with two of His Saints of Old. But they were not just any two Old Testament Saints. Moses is the man, through whom God has given His Torah. The Torah are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. They contain both terrifying Law (Dt. 34:12) and assuring Gospel promises-of-deliverance from all the terror resulting from our sin. These very promises were being fulfilled in Jesus. But, they would not be complete until Jesus did what He had come to do.
Meanwhile, Elijah is the great prophet, through whom the Lord continues to bring His Word of Law and Gospel to His people. The prophets, in general, were the people through whom the Lord repeatedly delivered His spoken words of condemnation for sin and comfort in His promise of forgiveness.
But how could these two heavenly saints be standing on that earthly mountain? Remember how Moses and Elijah came to be in eternity with the Lord. Both had long been removed from the face of this earth — Moses by death — Elijah by a whirlwind. How could they be on that mountain with Jesus? Especially, Moses? Weren’t his bones buried by the Lord in an unmarked grave somewhere in the valley in the land of Moab (Dt. 34:6)? But lo and behold! There was Moses in bodily form! How could this be?
Such is life in eternity. In eternity there is now no more past, nor is there any future. There is only the eternal now. Moses, who has died, now lives in eternity. For Him, the resurrection of the dead is not a future event. The resurrection of the dead simply is. There, in that moment of the Transfiguration, is our proof of the resurrection of the dead — Moses is living, breathing, and speaking with our Lord. For this brief moment, time and eternity could be seen sharing the same holy space. A SACRED SPACE, WITHOUT TIME; among other things, that’s what eternity with Jesus is.
While we’re here, Time is also a gift of God. It separates us from our past. But only what Jesus does for us can separate us from the sin of our past. Jesus separates us from our sin and unites us with the love of God in Him, from whom nothing can separate us. In the heavenly eternity, there is no Time. This gift of Time & separation is removed. It is no longer necessary. In heaven, there is no more sin from which we must be separated. But in eternal hell, the separation from God is full and complete and the union with the past and its mistakes of unbelief is unbearable. All the mistakes, and the regret that comes with them, are no longer separated by Time. Time does not exist in eternity. Some will tell you that “Time heals all wounds.” But, that’s a lie. If Time is all you rely on to heal your wounds, then be warned, Time is not eternal. It too shall pass away. Time will be taken away. Your first-aid-kit of Time and Distance will not comfort you any longer. There is only one comfort that will last into eternity. It is the comfort of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The God-Man who was slain has begun His reign. His is the medicine that heals all wounds, forever.
While Jesus was transfigured, His clothing became whiter than anything on earth. What Peter, James and John saw was an intense white that was not of this world. The intense whiteness of the Lord’s garments (His glory) was revealed to these three men. All through their lives the only white clothing they had ever seen was illuminated either by sunlight or by lamp light. But, like the last book of the Bible tells us: in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Rev. 21:23). In the presence of the Lamb of God, there is no need for lamp or sun, for the Lord God Himself is the light (Rev. 22:5). At the Transfiguration, Jesus showed Himself, light and all, for what He truly is.
On that mount of Transfiguration the Father also reveals a glimpse of His glory. His unveiled glory doesn’t just illuminate and reveal men for what they are. His glory removes dullness and destroys impurity. If not for His love and care, He would remove and destroy each one of us. So there on that mountain, He appeared by means of the Cloud. The Cloud, like His beloved Son, shields the Father’s loved ones from the overwhelming glory of His unveiled presence.
It’s funny, but either what Peter, James, and John saw on this mountain was real, and what Moses did in getting Israel across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai was real, and what happened to Elijah after he & Elisha crossed the Jordan was real, and what happened to Jesus on the third day after His crucifixion was real, or else, what you see now is all you get. If so, then the struggles of this world are all there is. If all you see is all that’s real, then, the philosophers, skeptics, and agnostics could be right. And we, dear friends, are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:19).
BUT, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, He is the firstborn of the dead. He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20). The light of heaven has come to be the light of men. The Son of God has become the Son of Man in the flesh. Moses parted the Red Sea, walked through on dry ground, and spoke with the Lord face to face. Elijah rolled up his cloak, parted the Jordan River and went to heaven riding a tornado. We have been assured by Peter, James, and John; Moses, Elijah, and Elisha that what they saw and did is real. And what Jesus said and did for the forgiveness of sins is real.
His garments are of a white so intense, that normally it cannot be found anywhere on earth. So do not look for it in this world. It can only be found in the unveiled presence of God’s own beloved Son. He, and no one else, is the Light of men come into the world to save mankind.
It sure was good for them to be there, in the presence of God’s shining glory. But miracle of miracles, Jesus did not stay there. The love of God in Christ Jesus brought Him back down the mountain to finish the good work He had begun for us. In the presence of three witnesses, Jesus had been revealed for what He truly is. In that moment, time-bound-men witnessed eternal-men sharing an out-of-this-world conversation. Conversation in eternity!?! Of course! The exchange of Godly words is the stuff that real, healthy relationships are made of. Here in His Divine Service we join the saints in exchanging Godly words with the Lord and Savior of the world.
So, while we spend our earthly lives trying to carve out a little piece of heaven on earth, be careful. Oh, go ahead and work toward the ideal living conditions: a good family life; a perfect wedding ceremony and honeymoon; a happy marriage; the white picket fence; an energy efficient life-style; financial security; comfortable retirement; and the best health care this world has to offer; but do not rely on these temporary things more than you rely on the love of God in Christ. They can give us a sense of what God wants to share with us for all eternity. But here on this side of the veil of tears, these wonderful moments are not going to last. They cannot. To remain in them is to delude and detach ourselves from the world the Church is sent to call to repentance and belief in Jesus. The world needs to hear the Gospel message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sin. The Church does not become detached from this necessity. This is Her job. The Church confronts the world with the truth of God’s Word.
Amazing and terrifying as the Transfiguration was, it is not the miracle of God that saves these three men. Their salvation, and your salvation, comes from only one place. On the mount of Transfiguration, the light of Christ was revealed. But on Mount Calvary, darkness covered the land as the Light of the world was snuffed out. Jesus, the God who saves, was lifted up in glory to bear the full weight of the world’s sin. That’s why Jesus had to come down the mount of Transfiguration. The Light of the world must shed His blood on the cross. Behold, God’s own Son went up Mount Calvary to come down a corpse. The Son of Man was born to die.
The Voice of God said: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!” The heavenly Father’s Voice echoes the words of Jesus’ earthly mother at the wedding feast in Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” Both His words and His deeds speak volumes. He takes what is not His own. My sin, is mine alone. Your sin, is yours alone. But He takes our sin. Without asking, He takes it to a Roman cross. He takes our sin and permanently transfigures a plain Roman cross into a life-giving tree. He takes our sins away from us and hangs them on a Cross marked with sacred, life-giving blood. What Jesus does to deliver the forgiveness of sins to you, is come to you in His holy body and precious blood right here in Holy Communion. Come to Him all who labor and are heavy laden. Here, He gives you rest.
Now the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Mark 9:2-9
Dear fellow Christians who, with unveiled faces, are being transformed by the Spirit of the Lord from one degree of glory to another,
Behold our heavenly Father’s beloved Son. He went up a mountain and came down having been revealed BY HIS FATHER for what He truly is. We say He was Transfigured. Saint Mark used the Greek word metamorfow. That kinda sounds like our English word: metamorphosis. It means Jesus looked different from the way they had normally seen Him. Three of His disciples were eye-witnesses. The eternal reality of the glory of heaven was revealed to sinful men. Peter had already blundered, when He told Jesus to stay off the Cross and stay alive. Now, after seeing the brightly shining clothes and face of Jesus, Peter blunders again by insisting that Moses, Elijah and Jesus all continue to dwell in this fallen world, as if what Peter wanted is what God Himself intended. But, they must depart from that mountain-top experience. Heaven is eternal and that moment of Transfiguration was only temporary. For a brief moment in time, God allowed sinful men to experience heaven in the unveiled presence of God’s own Son. Who wouldn’t want to BE there?
The eyes of Peter, James, and John saw Christ’s conversation with two of His Saints of Old. But they were not just any two Old Testament Saints. Moses is the man, through whom God has given His Torah. The Torah are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. They contain both terrifying Law (Dt. 34:12) and assuring Gospel promises-of-deliverance from all the terror resulting from our sin. These very promises were being fulfilled in Jesus. But, they would not be complete until Jesus did what He had come to do.
Meanwhile, Elijah is the great prophet, through whom the Lord continues to bring His Word of Law and Gospel to His people. The prophets, in general, were the people through whom the Lord repeatedly delivered His spoken words of condemnation for sin and comfort in His promise of forgiveness.
But how could these two heavenly saints be standing on that earthly mountain? Remember how Moses and Elijah came to be in eternity with the Lord. Both had long been removed from the face of this earth — Moses by death — Elijah by a whirlwind. How could they be on that mountain with Jesus? Especially, Moses? Weren’t his bones buried by the Lord in an unmarked grave somewhere in the valley in the land of Moab (Dt. 34:6)? But lo and behold! There was Moses in bodily form! How could this be?
Such is life in eternity. In eternity there is now no more past, nor is there any future. There is only the eternal now. Moses, who has died, now lives in eternity. For Him, the resurrection of the dead is not a future event. The resurrection of the dead simply is. There, in that moment of the Transfiguration, is our proof of the resurrection of the dead — Moses is living, breathing, and speaking with our Lord. For this brief moment, time and eternity could be seen sharing the same holy space. A SACRED SPACE, WITHOUT TIME; among other things, that’s what eternity with Jesus is.
While we’re here, Time is also a gift of God. It separates us from our past. But only what Jesus does for us can separate us from the sin of our past. Jesus separates us from our sin and unites us with the love of God in Him, from whom nothing can separate us. In the heavenly eternity, there is no Time. This gift of Time & separation is removed. It is no longer necessary. In heaven, there is no more sin from which we must be separated. But in eternal hell, the separation from God is full and complete and the union with the past and its mistakes of unbelief is unbearable. All the mistakes, and the regret that comes with them, are no longer separated by Time. Time does not exist in eternity. Some will tell you that “Time heals all wounds.” But, that’s a lie. If Time is all you rely on to heal your wounds, then be warned, Time is not eternal. It too shall pass away. Time will be taken away. Your first-aid-kit of Time and Distance will not comfort you any longer. There is only one comfort that will last into eternity. It is the comfort of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The God-Man who was slain has begun His reign. His is the medicine that heals all wounds, forever.
While Jesus was transfigured, His clothing became whiter than anything on earth. What Peter, James and John saw was an intense white that was not of this world. The intense whiteness of the Lord’s garments (His glory) was revealed to these three men. All through their lives the only white clothing they had ever seen was illuminated either by sunlight or by lamp light. But, like the last book of the Bible tells us: in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Rev. 21:23). In the presence of the Lamb of God, there is no need for lamp or sun, for the Lord God Himself is the light (Rev. 22:5). At the Transfiguration, Jesus showed Himself, light and all, for what He truly is.
On that mount of Transfiguration the Father also reveals a glimpse of His glory. His unveiled glory doesn’t just illuminate and reveal men for what they are. His glory removes dullness and destroys impurity. If not for His love and care, He would remove and destroy each one of us. So there on that mountain, He appeared by means of the Cloud. The Cloud, like His beloved Son, shields the Father’s loved ones from the overwhelming glory of His unveiled presence.
It’s funny, but either what Peter, James, and John saw on this mountain was real, and what Moses did in getting Israel across the Red Sea and to Mount Sinai was real, and what happened to Elijah after he & Elisha crossed the Jordan was real, and what happened to Jesus on the third day after His crucifixion was real, or else, what you see now is all you get. If so, then the struggles of this world are all there is. If all you see is all that’s real, then, the philosophers, skeptics, and agnostics could be right. And we, dear friends, are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:19).
BUT, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, He is the firstborn of the dead. He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20). The light of heaven has come to be the light of men. The Son of God has become the Son of Man in the flesh. Moses parted the Red Sea, walked through on dry ground, and spoke with the Lord face to face. Elijah rolled up his cloak, parted the Jordan River and went to heaven riding a tornado. We have been assured by Peter, James, and John; Moses, Elijah, and Elisha that what they saw and did is real. And what Jesus said and did for the forgiveness of sins is real.
His garments are of a white so intense, that normally it cannot be found anywhere on earth. So do not look for it in this world. It can only be found in the unveiled presence of God’s own beloved Son. He, and no one else, is the Light of men come into the world to save mankind.
It sure was good for them to be there, in the presence of God’s shining glory. But miracle of miracles, Jesus did not stay there. The love of God in Christ Jesus brought Him back down the mountain to finish the good work He had begun for us. In the presence of three witnesses, Jesus had been revealed for what He truly is. In that moment, time-bound-men witnessed eternal-men sharing an out-of-this-world conversation. Conversation in eternity!?! Of course! The exchange of Godly words is the stuff that real, healthy relationships are made of. Here in His Divine Service we join the saints in exchanging Godly words with the Lord and Savior of the world.
So, while we spend our earthly lives trying to carve out a little piece of heaven on earth, be careful. Oh, go ahead and work toward the ideal living conditions: a good family life; a perfect wedding ceremony and honeymoon; a happy marriage; the white picket fence; an energy efficient life-style; financial security; comfortable retirement; and the best health care this world has to offer; but do not rely on these temporary things more than you rely on the love of God in Christ. They can give us a sense of what God wants to share with us for all eternity. But here on this side of the veil of tears, these wonderful moments are not going to last. They cannot. To remain in them is to delude and detach ourselves from the world the Church is sent to call to repentance and belief in Jesus. The world needs to hear the Gospel message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sin. The Church does not become detached from this necessity. This is Her job. The Church confronts the world with the truth of God’s Word.
Amazing and terrifying as the Transfiguration was, it is not the miracle of God that saves these three men. Their salvation, and your salvation, comes from only one place. On the mount of Transfiguration, the light of Christ was revealed. But on Mount Calvary, darkness covered the land as the Light of the world was snuffed out. Jesus, the God who saves, was lifted up in glory to bear the full weight of the world’s sin. That’s why Jesus had to come down the mount of Transfiguration. The Light of the world must shed His blood on the cross. Behold, God’s own Son went up Mount Calvary to come down a corpse. The Son of Man was born to die.
The Voice of God said: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!” The heavenly Father’s Voice echoes the words of Jesus’ earthly mother at the wedding feast in Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” Both His words and His deeds speak volumes. He takes what is not His own. My sin, is mine alone. Your sin, is yours alone. But He takes our sin. Without asking, He takes it to a Roman cross. He takes our sin and permanently transfigures a plain Roman cross into a life-giving tree. He takes our sins away from us and hangs them on a Cross marked with sacred, life-giving blood. What Jesus does to deliver the forgiveness of sins to you, is come to you in His holy body and precious blood right here in Holy Communion. Come to Him all who labor and are heavy laden. Here, He gives you rest.
Now the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
2/28/2006
